Some of my mapping interests:

• Adding detail to urban areas: sidewalks, crosswalks, parking zones, stop lights, amenities (mail boxes, bike stands, water fountains, trash cans, benches)
• Correcting and updating roadways: especially bridges/overpasses, rectifying names (mass imported data e.g. TIGER is often very suspect), speed limits, stop signs
• Waterways: many rivers and streams are missing from OSM data; I start with the largest rivers, but I often branch out into tributaries and even some ditches/drains
  • Can be very important in navigation, as informal directions are often given in terms such as “take first left after crossing the creek”.
  • Often point me to other useful updates such as roads and bridges. One can easily find roads that don’t exist or have incorrect paths, bridges that have washed away, etc.
• Lakes, ponds, dams
• Hiking trails, parks
• Railways
• Power plants and associated infrastructure: lines, towers, poles, substations

Normally I work within a single area before moving on, and try to limit each changeset to one of the above categories for ease of review.